Taxi drivers operating through Regina Cabs have become the first unionized cabbies in Queen City.

As of last spring, drivers with the company have been unionized with United Steelworkers. The union’s staff representative Leslie McNabb said drivers approached the local because they “wanted to be treated fairly and have a say in their workplace.”

They are currently in the process of negotiating their first contract.

McNabb called the negotiations an interesting exercise in that the drivers don’t consider themselves employees of Regina Cabs. Operators — those who hold the taxicab licences — are independent contractors who hire drivers. Still, McNabb said, drivers are in some ways dependent on the brokerage.

“It’s not your traditional employer-employee relationship,” she said.

Sandy Archibald, manager of Regina Cabs, agreed the unionization is an “awkward fit” for that reason.

Both Archibald and McNabb were reluctant to talk about the details of the negotiations.

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